WTF 2

I hadn't even been graced with the slightest of openings before Jigoku had come upon me. I didn't think intel of my whereabouts would reach him this quickly. None the matter, though. I'll put an end to this here and now. Swerving to the side, I swipe my forearm upward, coating it in soul, before parrying his slash. Recovering, I draw back, manifesting a blade of my own.

He smiles. "You've figured it out, I see."

I grin with a false confidence. "It was obvious from the start- I was just too clouded in the moment. If Hellcutter is only tangible via the soul, then simply striking back with an attack of that type should reduce it to just a normal blade...right?" 

"Good work," He says, pointing the tip of his blade toward me. "I implore your comprehension... but your knowledge is still nothing to my insurmountable power." 

Here it comes.

In an eruption of force, our blades collide, blue flames and red ethereal energy pushing back and forth, their respective energies creating a power far surpassing anything I had witnessed. Swiping upward, Jigoku parries, flipping backward as my blade slices through nothingness. Wasting no time, I dart forward, again face-to-face with Jigoku. I bring my blade down to his skull, and almost fluidly, he dodges out of the way.

I spin around to my side, attempting to land a follow-up, but he's already gone. 

Shit-

A gust of wind billows through the air.

All is stagnant.

His blade is at my throat-

Lodging its tip into my neck, he slams me to the ground, my soul contorting and ripping under its influence. 

I'm still too slow.

He draws his hand back, before wrapping it around my face- his strength alone putting strain on my skull.

His ice-cold face is unchanging. Not a hint of emotion.

If this is kept up much longer, I will die. That's a fact set in stone. I calm my breathing, steadying myself. If I'm too slow, I'll die.

What's a challenge if there's no risk, right?

I spin on my back, excruciating pain shooting through my body as Hellcutter twists in my throat. I ignore this. slamming my foot into the ground, I manage to shove myself backward, out of Jigoku's grasp.

Jigoku was quick to follow, though. His blade lodges into the gravel below as I roll out of the way. Civilians had begun to notice, scattering in all directions, screaming.

To my left.

Flipping backward, I feel the sharp edge of Hellcutter slice through my foot as my shoddy dodge barely allows me to escape the brunt of the attack.

Wait. HIs blade is intangible- and it hadn't cut my soul just then. I felt blood. What's going on...

Swiveling on my heel, I spin around, blade positioned to strike while he is still in the midst of an attack. His eyes swerve to meet mine right as my blade would've connected with his spine. Shooting out of the way, he shimmers back into view above me, Hellcutter turned town to pierce straight through my skull. I can dodge this-

"Homura: Pull."

As if a magnet, my body is pulled with irresistible force toward Jigoku. Shit! I forgot about that! And my hubris had proved significantly detrimental. The force of the pull drives me straight into his blade- and this time, it was undeniable that it had cut me. I scream in pain, blood spraying from my throat. 

I can't win.

But I'll fucking try.

I extend my hands to his face- crackling with sparks of soul.

"Underworld..."

----

Via the application of one's awakened soul (A Discord) to that which has been focused and amplified (Tamajutsu) within a split second, one can achieve something of great power. A perfect middle ground between the two primordial forces. Incomplete versions of this technique are plentiful, attempts at combining the driving forces of one's soul. But there is only ever one correct way to do it. Okoramo doesn't know what he's doing- he never has. This came via the supernatural. A calling he couldn't source. A whisper from beyond.

This technique's name is particular- changing along with the user.

In this instance...

----

"...Discharge!!!"

Exploding outward like some sort of otherworldly display of fireworks, sparks of black and divine azure rupture in gallant explosions, focused into a beam of singularity. Jigoku is devoid of reaction time, the blast having begun but inches from his face. His body flies in the opposite direction as the blast connects, hurtling him through the air.

I stare in awe at my palms, now billowing with smoke. I have no idea how the fuck I did that- but I know exactly how I did at the same time. It was a feeling. An instinct.

Jigoku tosses the rubble from his body, hopping free from a pile of debris. He wipes but a trickle of blood from his mouth. His face is twisted with rage now. "How the hell did you do that?!"

"Dude- I have no fucking clue."

"Hold your tongue! I'm not here to play games! You're telling me that a fucking degenerate named 'Okoramo Kubihige' was able to pull THAT off?! No! Not without an outside factor. This can't have just been you alone!"

I roll my shoulders, flexing my arms. "If there was an outside factor, I couldn't tell ya."

His reply is an angered grunt. I smirk.

I can't let my guard down, though.

I can't get cocky.

Sparks flying from his palm, in a flash, Hellcutter spurs to life once more, Jigoku's fingers wrapping around it. "Just what the hell are you...!?"

I shrug. "Heh...cool line."

Shimmering into nothingness, Jigoku drops from my vision. I wrench my eyes shut. 

I have to be fast enough. Moving lazily was no longer an option.

The left.

I wouldn't dodge this time. I would counterattack.

Spinning on my foot, meeting him face to face, I cock my fist back, Hellcutter already positioned to lob my head off.

The same feeling as before. 

A force pulling me toward it.

A force I knew I should follow.

In a flash of blinding, wretched energy, viciously emanating crackling flames of blue and black explode to life, engulfing my fist. Jigoku shows no weariness, though. He's thinking. I can't get caught up on that right now, though.

Swinging my fist as fast as it allows me to, it meets Hellcutter in the middle, the two opposite forces pushing back against each other, the earth giving way below. Gritting his teeth in rage, Jigoku yells, "Gairashi!!"

Fuck.

With a feeling of dreadful terror, I witness my strength matched- then surpassed. Jigoku swings his blade upward, parrying, my fist slung upward into the air.

I'm open to attack now.

Shifting his blade in his hand, Jigoku pivots, before spinning, slicing a clean gash into my stomach. I fall to the ground with a sickening "splat", Jigoku once again flickering from sight. I'm given zero leeway. I shouldn't expect any.

He's above me.

I wouldn't give way.

Everywhere.

I would pool it everywhere.

In a blast of scorching flame, an eruption of soul immolates and flashes out from my body. Jigoku's eyes widen in disbelief. However, that would prove highly detrimental. He hadn't dodged. He yells out in pain as the flames scald his body, though only partially before he flips backward out of the blast. His reaction was quick, but he was caught in it, and that's what mattered. Not only had that surge of soul dealt exterior physical damage, but it had also sealed up my wounds. I stand up, Jigoku still in a state of disarray. I would take this time to regain my composure-

Or not.

Feeling the pulse of his soul, I dodge, ducking downward. I drop to the ground, dodging another flurry of attacks, before shoving myself out of the way of a piercing attack. Skidding to a halt on all fours, I pivot, before launching back forward without haste. I outstretch my palm, coated in calamitous soul...and it swishes through empty air as Jigoku dodges out of the way, once again flipping backward. 

My fist slams into the ground, earth rupturing below its force.

I fall to my side, Jigoku's blade swerving past me. he really doesn't waste any time. He grunts in anger, swerving to the side, removing himself from my range. I hop back up to my feet. 

I can keep up now.

Jigoku screeches in anger. I stagger. He hadn't shown much emotion till now. It was rather unsettling actually. He clenches his fist, Hellcutter shattering to nothing. He glares, face in shadow. "How the FUCK are you doing this?! You can't pull off TWO of those attacks in a row PURELY off of luck. I knew something was off about yo-"

In a flash of black sparks, I slam my fist into his face, driving him into the ground.

I dash backward as he immediately retaliates with a sweeping slash -Hellcutter already reformed- landing shoddily on my feet. He jumps back to his feet, heaving. His face is riddled with rage, eyes wide, bloodshot. He just stands there for a bit, both of us unmoving, before finally rightening himself. He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes, before regaining his composure.

He crouches down to his knees, stretching from side to side. He hops back up to his feet, stretching his arms now. I'm frozen in confusion. 

What was he doing?

Finally, he swipes his hand through the air, reforming Hellcutter in a glowing, red arc.

He outstretches his blade... before setting it alight with the flames of the soul.

-----

The streets were less populus than those on the island's other side. Men and women in Japanese clothing milled about, traditional towers and houses of wood dotting the lands. Despite his out-of-place garb, nobody really took note of Shinimaru. This came as a surprise, but it worked in his favor, so he wouldn't complain.

He didn't know how to get back to Tenma, so he had just begun walking through the lawless lands till he found civilization. There was still no trace of his friends, though, and he had nearly given up looking here.

Rounding the corner of a street, he comes upon a small bar, built into the side of a larger building. Shinimaru shrugged. There wasn't any harm in entering.